These three dashboards offer a simple way to see telemetry data. And if you want more detail you can use one of the best telemetry applications the Z1 Analyzer for full telemetry analysis, as it comes with the Z1 Dashboard.

Are you a driver who is just getting started with telemetry and is wondering how to use it to become a faster driver?

This video explains the best ways to get into telemetry and to start improving your lap times.

Jump to:
Consistency: 0:31
How consistent do I need to be? 1:19
How do I become more consistent? 2:04
Next Steps: Comparing to someone else's lap: 4:26
Z1 Analyzer Select Lap Dialog (a very brief demo): 5:58
Final Thoughts: 7:30

There are many improvements in this version, but the big one is the addition of video. You can now open videos of your laps and have them play back in sync with the telemetry. You can sync the video and the telemetry so that whenever you move to a different point in the video the telemetry will move to that same point, and vise-versa.

We've also added corner overlays, making it easier to see where the corners are in your traces. As with everything in the Analyzer these overlays are completely customizable.

The current time and distance of the cursor is now displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Analyzer's display. New to this version is the ability to step through the telemetry using the left/right arrow keys.

And for track, educational or commercial users you can now adjust the beacon position of the base lap in one of three ways: through a dialog, or keyboard arrows, or using the mouse.

Here is the full list of release notes:
* 64 Bit - The Analyzer is now a 64 bit application. This was necessary for the video option below.

* VIDEO - The Z1 Analyzer now supports opening and playing back mp4 and avi video files. To display the video window go to Display->Show Video. The video window is exactly like any other window in the Analyzer. You can drag it and resize it as you like.

To open a video click on the folder icon at the bottom of the video window.

To play a video click on the play icon at the bottom of the video window. Just like the playback of telemetry data, each time you click the play button the playback speed will be reduced by half, down to 1/16 speed. At that point clicking it again resumes full playback speed.

To pause a video click on the pause icon at the bottom of the video window

To stop playback of a video click on the stop icon at the bottom of the video window. Clicking the stop button also resets playback speed to full speed.

You can step forward and backwards through the video frame by frame by using the forward/backward step icons. Each click of one of these icons will advance/rewind the video by one frame.

You can jump to the start or end of the video by using the 'move to beginning' and 'move to end' buttons.

You can fast-forward or rewind the video by using the fast-forward or rewind buttons.

* There is a sync button in the video button bar. This looks like two arrows pointing at each other. When this button is selected it will turn green. When it is selected if you play, pause of stop the telemetry or video then the other will also play, pause or stop.

* There is a flag button in the video button bar. This is used to specify where the start/finish line is for the lap. You should use the video controls to move the video so that the car is right at the start/finish line. Then click this button. Doing so will tell the Analyzer where the start/finish line is for this video and this lap. Once this has been done, the Analyzer will keep the video and telemetry in the same position on the lap when you click to a specific location on a trace or the track map.

* You can now step forward/backward through the telemetry using the right/left arrow keys. Each time you press one of the keys you'll move forward or backward by one data point in the lap. This makes it easier to control exactly where you are in the lap.

* The Analyzer will now use both steering inputs and lateral g-forces to determine the corners of a track. The g-force threshold is 0.6G to determine the start of a corner. Note if the track has track edges defined then those will be used to determine corners instead of steering or g-forces.

* There is now an option to show corners overlayed on the traces. This option is located under Display->Show Corner Overlays. You can choose if you want the overlays to be filled on the trace, or just an outline by ticking the 'Fill Corner Overlay' option in the settings General tab. You can choose the colors used to draw the left and right hand corners in the Screen Colors and Print Colors under the Track Map section. You can have different colors for screen display and printing purposes.

* There is now an option to shift the base lap forwards or backwards as compared to the main lap. This is intended to let you line up two different laps that have used different beacon positions. This would occur most often in real world imported laps. In sim laps it is highly unlikely you would need this feature. The option is available under the Laps->Shift Laps menu option. In the dialog you can then enter the distance you want to move the base lap in meters, centimeters or feet. A positive number shifts the lap to the right, and a negative number shifts it to the left.

You can also shift the lap forward or backward by one data point by using the Shift+Right/Left Arrow keyboard combination, or by choosing the Laps->Shift Forward or Laps->Shift Backward menu options.

You can also use the mouse to shift the lap forward or backward. Hold the Shift key down and left click on a trace and drag the mouse. This will shift the base lap trace in sync with the mouse movement.

Note shifting a lap does not permanently change its beacon position. It only moves it while the lap is currently open.

This feature requires a track license or higher.

* The status bar now displays the current time and distance at the cursor position. This data is show as "cursor: 0:24.817 | 3358.3 feet". If you have distances set to metric then you'll see the distances in meters. This information is based on the main lap and not the base lap.

* Added six (6) new traces: Yaw, Pitch, Roll, Yaw Rate, Pitch Rate and Roll Rate. These are available for all users under 'Chassis' in the trace popup menu for those sims that support this data. These traces are also available for use with custom traces. For track and commercial users they are also available for imported data. And for commercial users they are available in the 'Limits' settings of the commercial settings tab.

* Updates to how saved layouts are handled with respect to resizing them if the window size differs from when they were saved, and if more traces have been added to the Analyzer since the layout was created. Note these changes only effect layouts saved in this version and forward.

* When running the demo you can now choose between the four different license levels (standard, track, educational or commercial). This lets you try out each license level to determine which is right for you. As before, the demo will last 15 minutes regardless of the license level selected. After the 15 minutes is over you will have to restart the Analyzer to get another 15 minutes.

As of version 1.18, the Z1 Analyzer lets you play back videos. You can sync these videos with the telemetry or play them back independently. You can also jump around in the video by clicking anywhere on a trace or track map. It is as easy as that!

Video is a great way for you to see exactly where you are placing your car in a turn, and what the car is doing at any moment. Make sure you are using the latest version of the Analyzer to get the most from your racing or track day.

Version 2020.1 of the Z1 Analyzer is now available. Just like the Dashboard we have updated the numbering sequence - so 2020.1

The big change in this version is that we have rewritten the entire Analyzer to use Direct2D instead of cairo. This update in the graphics department means we can utilize the GPU when rendering, provide much smoother lines and fonts, get better performance, especially when scrolling around the various track maps in the analysis screens. It also opens up a lot of doors for us for future development concepts that we would have been unable to do properly with the cairo graphics engine.

The Z1 Analyzer 2020.1 is crisper and faster than before!

The brake points analysis screen makes it easier to see which lap is which with the red and blue track edges.

The driving line analysis screen gets the same Direct2D treatment - better performance and a smoother, crisper display

The Turn Analysis screen has been updated for better performance and a more integrated feel.

We've also added quite a lot of YouTube video links in the Analyzer to provide help on how the various feature work - so make sure you check those out.

We'd also like to thank the entire beta test team - they did a tireless job ensuring the version is as good as it is!

Here is the full list of release notes:
* Direct2D - The entire Analyzer graphics engine has been rewritten using Direct2D. This replaces the older cairo graphics engine. This change will allow for improved performance of the Analyzer, and more efficient usage of the GPU when rendering. In addition it will open the door for many future improvements that would not have been possible using the old cairo rendering engine.

* Graphical improvements - the rewrite process for Direct2D allowed us to update the display of many of the components to bring a more cohesive look to the entire Analyzer.

* Added many links to our YouTube videos to help explain how to use, and get the most out of, the Z1 Analyzer.

* When importing external data, we have removed the Track length text field. The length of the track will now always be calculated using the data contained within the imported file. This is because allowing the user to enter the track length opened up the possibility of accidentally entering the wrong track length. An incorrect track length would result in all sorts of issues when attempting to view the data and/or compare it to other laps.

* The version numbering of the Analyzer has been changed. Starting with this version the numbering will be year based making this version 2020.1. This is to bring all three applications onto the same numbering sequence and to make it easier to determine if you have the most recent version of the software.

* The Z1 Analyzer will now notify you of new versions with an overview of the highlights of the new version. This notification will be displayed on two consecutive start ups once the update is available.

* Windows 7 is no longer officially supported. While the Z1 Analyzer can still be installed on Windows 7 and run on it, there may be issues that arise as Windows 7 is now EOL.

* Note for this release the Print functionality has been disabled. It will be reinstated soon.